Over 500,000 Celebrates At Vaisakhi Day Parade In Surrey

The Dashmesh Darbar organized Vaisakhi Day parade in Surrey again drew a record crowd on a beautiful Sunny Saturday, drawing a a local and international crowd of over 500,000 people. The annual Nagar Kirtan began around 8:30 am with more than 20 floats starting and ending at the Gudwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar temple late in the afternoon after a slow trek through the Surrounding areas of 128 and 76th Avenue. “I’m shocked at the numbers,” organizer Moninder Singh told the media. “It has turned into an international event. People have heard about it and they want to be here.” PHOTOS & VIDEO BY SUKHWANT SINGH DHILLON

SURREY – The Dashmesh Darbar organized Vaisakhi Day parade in Surrey again drew a record crowd on a beautiful Sunny Saturday, drawing a a local and international crowd of over 500,000 people.

The annual Nagar Kirtan began around 8:30 am with more than 20 floats starting and ending at the Gudwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar temple late in the afternoon after a slow trek through the Surrounding areas of 128 and 76th Avenue.

“I’m shocked at the numbers,” organizer Moninder Singh told the media. “It has turned into an international event. People have heard about it and they want to be here.”

Buses of people from Calgary, Edmonton, Seattle and even California travelled to Surrey to celebrate. The multicultural crowd — which almost exceeded the population of Surrey — included visitors from around the world, as well as politicians of all stripes, reported the Vancouver Sun.

For the first time, the parade was opened by the Kwantlen First Nation, which welcomed the event on its unceded territory, said Singh, adding he hopes the welcome will become a yearly tradition.

“The mood is vibrant,” he said. “There’s lots of different food and tons of it for everyone.”

Despite the big crowd, organizers and the city including a large presence by the RCMP kept the festivities moving smoothly with a big emphasis on green including using non-plastic elements for the disposable plates and bowls for the tons of free food handed out to the visitors and attendees.

LOT OF DONATION SEEKERS!

DESIBUZZCanada photo-journalist Sukhwant Singh Dhillon reported that he was shocked to see so many organizations including Surrey Food Bank and Pingalwara Society and many others seeking donations from the massive crowd. He said there is nothing wrong with societies seeking donations but some felt that it was exploitative and harshly called the donation seekers “professional beggars.” But the Khalsa Day celebrations are about generousity of spirit and celebration of the birth of Sikhism but increasingly it’s becoming commercialized and donations seekers are just another part of it’s growth as Mecca of Giving.

About the Author

Raj Paul Dhillon is an award winning journalist based in Vancouver, Canada. He received his second National Best Editorial Award from the National Ethnic Media and Press Association of Canada, presented to him by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on November 21, 2010 in Toronto.
Aside from an extensive writing/editing work with a number of newspapers and magazines (currently the editor of the South Asian LINK newspaper, the oldest South Asian newspaper in Canada), he has also done freelance writing for mainstream publications like The Vancouver Sun and Georgia Straight newspapers. He holds a degree in Communications and in Film from Simon Fraser University.

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